Sustainable ag bulletin on water savings
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“Smart Water Use on Your Farm or Ranch” is a 16-page bulletin compiled by the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education organization.
“With drought conditions gripping more than half the United States this summer, water-saving strategies are more critical than ever for America’s farmers and ranchers. That is why SARE’s 16-page bulletin, Smart Water Use on Your Farm or Ranch, is an excellent primer on conservation-oriented approaches to water use,” the organization suggested in a news release.
The explanation of what the bulletin tries to accomplish was provided. “Smart Water Use on Your Farm or Ranch spotlights, SARE-funded research into a range of conservation options including soil management, such as using compost, conservation tillage and cover crops; plant management, featuring crop rotation, water-conserving plants and rangeland drought mitigation; and water management strategies such as low-volume irrigation and water recycling.”
The bulletin include quotes and descriptions of what a few selected farmers are doing related to water conservation and systems that require less water to grow a crop. The bulletin also includes a list of resources where readers can get more in-depth information that coincides with SARE’s philosophy on appropriate cropping.
SARE has produced various bulletins over the years, and it suggests that some of its other bulletins are of significance for “soil management practices that can have a significant impact on water use and availability.” Additionally, the organization has issued reports and videos with viewpoints related to water use. Some of those resources/point-of-view reports were listed in the news release:
- Building Soils for Better Crops, 3rd Edition
- Managing Cover Crops Profitably, 3rd Edition
- Crop Rotation on Organic Farms
- The Ogallala Aquifer of the Texas High Plains: A Race Against Time – This SARE-produced video highlights the work being done by Texas researchers, farmers and ranchers to conserve water by replacing monocultures with diversified crop/livestock systems.
- Irrigation Energy Webinar Series – These three videos, produced with a SARE grant by University of Wisconsin Extension Specialist Scott Sanford, describe how to ensure your irrigation system is operating at maximum efficiency.
- Rainwater Catchment from a High Tunnel for Irrigation Use - This Iowa State University Extension video, produced with SARE funding, describes how to build a system to catch, store and reuse the rainwater for irrigation in a high tunnel.
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